Health: Stress less & sleep well

The stress of planning your wedding can cause sleepless nights, which in turn leads to more stress and anxiety. To nip this vicious cycle in the bud, adopt the following healthy habits.

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The stress of planning your wedding can cause sleepless nights, which in turn leads to more stress and anxiety. To nip this vicious cycle in the bud, adopt the following healthy habits.

1. Exercise regularly. Leave your high-energy fitness routine for the mornings. In the evening, stick to moderate activities that will relax you, such as meditative yoga, walking or swimming.

2. Eat a balanced diet. Try not to eat within two hours of bedtime and abstain from stimulants like rich, fatty or sugary foods, coffee and alcohol before tucking in. Rather sip a herbal tea with soothing properties, such as chamomile, so drink a cup of warm milk – it contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is a natural sedative.

3. If you are a worrywart, do something relaxing before going to bed, like reading a book, listening to soothing music or meditating. Try this technique, called progressive muscle relaxation: Start by contracting your toes as tightly as possible, then relaxing them. Work your way up the body, repeating the same with every muscle.

4. Turn off the TV and computer a couple of hours before you hit the sack. The bright blue LCD light these electronic devices emit can play havoc with your sleep patterns. It does this through a photo pigment in the eyes, which sends a signal to the brain tricking it into thinking it’s daytime and making us feel more alert instead of sleepy.